Yarn tensioning device

ABSTRACT

A device is disclosed for tensioning a running length of textile yarn. The device in its simplest form is made up of a housing with a yarn passageway extending therethrough. An annular seat is provided in the passageway and provides a surface for receiving a spherical element thereat with the element being out of contact with walls of the passageway while at rest on the seat. Relative dimensions of the passageway and the seat are such that the spherical element is precluded against lateral movement away from the seat, whereby the spherical element constantly applies tension against a yarn passing between the seat and the spherical element. The passageway further extends above the spherical element at the seat and may receive a plurality of elements if desired.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of application, Ser. No.297,995, filed Oct. 16, .[.1973.]. .Iadd.1972.Iaddend., now U.S. Pat.No. 3,753,535.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Numerous devices have heretofore been produced for the tensioning of arunning length of textile yarn. Further, certain of these devices haveincorporated the use of a spherical element such as a ball which isreceived in a conical support through which yarn passes. The weight ofthe ball thus rests on the support, impeding the progress of yarnpassing therebetween. These prior art devices have, however, beendeficient for numerous reasons. For example, the majority of the devicesare substantially enclosed, thus hindering feeding of yarn therethrough.Further, other of the devices are restricted to particular types ofyarn. Still further, other devices operate on a principle different fromthat of the instant invention, though a yarn passageway and a sphericalelement are involved.

The present invention thus provides an improved yarn tensioning deviceover those of the prior art, wherein a spherical element resides on aseat and engages yarn passing therethrough so as to impede the progressof the yarn by a predetermined amount. The device of the presentinvention further possesses certain definite advantages over the priorart. For example, it is easily manufactured, threading of yarn is quitesimple and quick; no surfaces are available for abrasion of the yarn orfor collection of lint and slubs; and tension is automaticallymaintained without any adjustments after start up.

The prior art is devoid of any teaching or suggestion of the presentinvention. Exemplary of the prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,408,560 toBingham et al; 1,432,399 to Land; 1,490,512 to Hill et al; 1,785,987 toStewart; 2,373,513 to Stevenson; and 2,222,921 to Van Den Bergh.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved yarntensioning device.

Still further, another object of the present invention is to provide animproved device of the tensioning of a running length of textile yarnutilizing at least one spherical element applying force against theyarn.

Generally speaking, the device of the present invention comprises ahousing, said housing having a yarn passageway extending therethrough;an annular seat received in said passageway to receive a sphericalelement thereat and hold said element out of contact with walls definingsaid passageway when said element resides at said seat; and a sphericalelement receivable in said passageway, said spherical element engaging ayarn passing through said seat and continuously applying tension againstsame, said passageway and said seat being relatively sized to precludepermanent lateral movement of said spherical element away from saidseat.

More specifically, the device of the present invention provides anelongated yarn passageway through a housing, with the passagewaygenerally having straight sides therealong. Internally of the housing,the passageway preferably tapers to a medium diameter section whichextends further axially inwardly of the housing and terminates at asmall diameter passageway which extends throughout the remainder of thehousing. At the junction of the medium and small passageways, an annularseat is provided for a spherical element that is received therein.Preferably the seat is provided by a ceramic insert that is received inand extends through the small diameter passageway beyond the oppositeend of the housing. The spherical element that is received within themedium diameter section of the passageway resides on the seat and isretained thereat by the wall of the medium diameter section of thepassageway. Hence, while there is a loose fit between the sphericalelement and the medium diameter section of the passageway, there is verylittle play therebetween, whereby the spherical element is held againstany substantial lateral movement.

Appropriate mounting means are also preferably secured to the housingand are employed to secure the device to a portion of a yarn handlingtextile machine. A preferred mounting means is a bracket that isintegral with the housing and extends outwardly therefrom transverse tothe direction of the passageway. An elongated slot that is axial withrespect to the bracket extends therealong, whereby the tension devicemay be secured at a predetermined position on the yarn handling machineso as to receive a yarn passing therethrough. Most yarn handlingmachines have a large number of adjacent yarn positions thereon. Each ofthe positions would be thus equipped with an individual tension deviceaccording to the teachings of the present invention.

Feeding of yarn into the tension device of the present invention isquite quick and simple. Compressed air may be introduced at the lowerend of the device. The compressed air overcomes the weight of thespherical element and forces the element off the seat into thepassageway. While the element remains suspended in air, yarn is placedinto the small diameter passageway, is picked up by the air stream andcarried therewith, passing around the spherical element and out theopposite upper end of the device. The pressurized air is then removedand the spherical element falls back towards the seat and entraps theyarn between the element and the seat. Thereafter, as the yarn begins tomove, the force of the moving yarn partially overcomes the weight of thespherical element and causes the spherical element to rotate at theseat. Depending upon the speed at which the yarn is traveling, the sizeof the yarn, and the number and size of the spherical elements employed,the final placement of the spherical element may vary. It should bepointed out, however, that the size, weight and number of sphericalelements are predetermined with respect to the physical dimensions ofthe passageway such that when the spherical element is present in thelarge diameter section of the passageway, the pressurized air, ifemployed, may pass freely therearound without sufficient force to expelthe spherical element from within the housing. The upper end of thepassageway may thus be unrestricted without danger of losing thespherical element during feeding.

Yarn may also be fed through the present tension device by affixing theyarn to a thin elongated instrument and pushing the instrument upwardlythrough the passageway, forcing the spherical element off the seat andpassing therearound.

The medium diameter section of the passageway performs yet anotherfunction. In many situations it becomes desirable to angularly disposedthe tension device with respect to vertical. The restricted dimensionsof the medium diameter section of the passageway, both diameter andlength, thus hold the spherical element over the seat and in properposition for tensioning the yarn regardless of whether the device is ina vertical position or angularly disposed.

The annular seat employed according to the present invention may beintegral with the housing or may be provided by an appropriate insert.The seat has an annular opening extending therethrough with thespherical element engaging surfaces around said opening having a radiusin a direction opposite the radius of curvature of the sphericalelement. As such, tangential point type contact is made between thespherical element and the seat, whereby a coil, neb, knot, or the likein yarn being tensioned will cause the spherical element to pivotupwardly about one area of contact and thereafter immediately fall backonto the seat.

The device of the present invention may be of integral construction ormay be made of component parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cross sectional view of a yarn tension device accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a device as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side cross sectional view of the relationship of a sphericalelement to an annular seat according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view as shown in FIG. 3, illustratingyarn passing therethrough.

FIG. 5 is a side cross sectional view of a yarn tension device accordingto the present invention illustrating a particular embodiment thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Making reference to the drawings, preferred embodiments of the presentinvention will now be described in detail. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate atension control device according to the present invention generallyindicated as 10. Tension control device 10 is preferably employed on anyyarn handling machine at a particular deposition with yarn passingtherethrough in the direction indicated by the arrows, though otherarrangements are possible.

Tension device 10 is made up of a housing 12 having a yarn passageway 20extending completely therethrough. Yarn passageway 20 is preferablycomprised of a small diameter section 22, a medium diameter section 24and a large diameter section 26. The small diameter section 22 islocated at the bottom of housing 12 and has an insert 30 receivedtherein, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter. Insert 30contains an annular passage 32 extending therethrough and has an upperend 34 that may be enlarged to the approximate size of medium diameterpassageway section 24 and defines a continuous seat thereat. All of thesurfaces on insert 30 that come into contact with yarn are smooth withrounded edges, and preferably, insert 30 is manufactured of a ceramiccomposite that exhibits long wear characteristics when in constantengagement with a moving textile yarn. As may be better seen in FIG. 3,the contact surface of insert 30 has rounded edges that define acontinuous radius of opposite curvature to that of the spherical elementto be received thereon. In other words, the seat 34 defined by insert 30is preferably provided with arcuate surfaces around annular opening 32.Hence a spherical element residing on the seat 34 makes limited contacttherewith at tangential points around the spherical element and seat 34.

At least one spherical element 40 is received in passageway 20 andresides in medium diameter section 24 on seat 34 of insert 30. Sphericalelement 40 is preferably a stainless steel ball of a predeterminedweight and diameter relative to the diameters of medium diameter section24 and large diameter section 26 of tubular passageway 20. In thisfashion, spherical element 40 closely approximates the diameter of midsection 24 so as to be held on seat 34 against lateral movementtherefrom. As such, should it become desirable to position tensiondevice 10 angularly with respect to vertical, spherical element 40 willnot roll off seat 34. In fact, a preferred form of tension device 10 maybe positioned at an angle of approximately 70° on either side ofvertical before element 40 moves off seat 34. In those embodiments whereonly a large diameter section 26 and a small diameter section 22 arepresent, the section dimensions at seat 34 are likewise such thatspherical element 40 will not undergo sufficient lateral movement atseat 34 to lose tension control on a yarn passing therethrough (See FIG.5).

Large diameter section 26 of tubular passageway 20 has a diameter thatsubstantially exceeds the diameter of spherical element 40, the purposeof which will be defined hereinafter. At the junction of sections 24 and26 of passageway 20, tapered wall sections 28 are provided. Theremainder of the passageway areas, are preferably straight, though thewalls of section 26 may taper gradually outwardly from the junction withsection 24. Hence, when spherical element 40 is up within large diametersection 26, and pressure thereon is removed, element 40 falls by gravityto the bottom of section 26, and is guided by tapered walls 28 intomedium diameter section 24 to properly reside on seat 34 of insert 30.

Also making reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a mounting means 50 is securedto housing 12 so as to facilitate securement of device 10 to the yarnhandling machine. As illustrated in the Figures, the preferredembodiment is a bracket 50 which has an elongated slot 52 extendingtherealong. Tension device 10 may thus be adjustably mounted withrespect to the source of yarn and/or the delivery point on the yarnhandling machine (not shown). The particular yarn handling machines thatmay suitably use the device of the present invention are well within thepurview of one skilled in the art and illustration thereof is notbelieved necessary.

FIG. 3 illustrates the relationship between spherical element 40 andseat 34. As mentioned above, seat 34 is uninterrupted around annularopening 32 and curved around annular opening 32 in a direction oppositethe curvature of spherical element 40. A peripheral contact is thus madeat tangential points around element 40 and seat 34. Thus as shown inFIG. 4, when a thick spot, knit, curl, twist or the like appears in yarnY, spherical element 40 pivots or rocks around the point of contact withseat 34 opposite the yarn Y while continuing to maintain tensioningcontact with yarn Y. After passage of the flow by element 40, element 40rocks on pivots back to the original position as shown in FIG. 4.Movement of element 40 is illustrated by the double headed arrow. Thisaction of spherical element 40 permits constant tension control on yarnY as the yarn passes through tension device 10.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. Atension device 110 is shown having a housing 112 with a passageway 120extending therethrough. Passageway 120 has a small diameter section 122and a large diameter section 126. An annular seat 134 is integral withhousing 112 and positioned adjacent the junction of passageway sections122 and 126, with section 122 passing therethrough. Seat 134 is providedwith a continuous arc emanating from passageway section 122 andextending outwardly therefrom. A spherical element 140 is receivable inlarge section 126 of passageway 120 and normally resides at seat 134,making tangential contact with seat 134 therearound. Yarn passes throughsection 122 of passageway 120, between spherical element 140 and seat134 and through passageway section 126. The weight of spherical element140 applies force against the yarn and constantly tensions same againstseat 134.

The tension device according to the present invention may bemanufactured as desired from any suitable material that will withstandthe abrasion caused by yarn passing thereover without being damaged, orwithout causing damage to the yarn. Plastic materials are very suitabledue to the ease of use in manufacture of the device and the economicsthereof. Injection molding is thus quite acceptable as a manufacturingtechnique for producing the instant tension device. As mentioned above,however, a ceramic composite insert is preferred due to the expectedwear at that particular part of the device, along with a stainless steelspherical element. In the integral construction of the tension device ofthe present invention which may take the form of any of the embodimentsset forth, a ceramic material is preferably utilized that exhibits asmooth surface at all contact points and resists wear due to abrasion bythe yarn. Aluminum oxide is a preferred material of construction.

Having described the present invention in detail, it is obvious that oneskilled in the art will be able to make variations and modificationsthereto without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly,the scope of the present invention should be determined only by theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tension device comprising:a. a housing, saidhousing having a yarn passageway extending therethrough, said yarnpassageway having a small diameter section and a large diameter section;b. an uninterrupted annular seat located in said large diameter sectionof said passageway at the junction of said large and small diametersections, said seat having an annular opening passing therethrough andpresenting a smooth arcuate surface extending from said openingoutwardly therefrom, the curvature of said arcuate surface being in adirection opposite the curvature of a spherical element receivablethereat .Iadd.said seat being defined by an insert received in said yarnpassageway.Iaddend.; and c. a spherical element receivable in said largediameter section of said passageway, said spherical element having adiameter less than the length of said large diameter section of saidpassageway and said large diameter section of said passageway at saidseat and said spherical element being comparatively sized such that saidspherical element may reside at said seat out of contact with walls ofsaid large diameter section of said passageway when no yarn is passingthrough said opening and such that substantial lateral movement of saidspherical element is precluded whereby said spherical elementcontinuously controls tension on a yarn passing thereby .Iadd.saidpassageway being smooth surfaced and substantially unrestricted upwardlyfrom said seat for a distance sufficient to permit substantiallyunrestricted upward movement of said spherical element during tensioningof a yarn.Iaddend..
 2. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 1wherein said housing and seat of said device are of integralconstruction.
 3. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 2 whereinsaid device is manufactured of a ceramic material.
 4. A yarn tensiondevice as defined in claim 1 wherein said large diameter section of saidyarn passageway includes a large diameter .[.section.]. portion,.Iadd.and .Iaddend.a medium diameter portion.[., and wherein said seatis provided by an insert received in said small diameter section of saidpassageway.]..
 5. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 4 whereinthe medium diameter portion of said large diameter section is providedadjacent said seat.
 6. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 5wherein said large diameter portion tapers in to said medium diameterportion.
 7. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 1 wherein saidyarn passageway has straight walls adjacent said seat.
 8. A yarn tensiondevice as defined in claim 1 wherein said housing has mounting meanssecured thereto.
 9. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 8 whereinsaid mounting means comprise a member secured to said housing andextending outwardly therefrom, said member having an elongated slottherealong.
 10. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 9 wherein saidmember is integral with said housing.
 11. A yarn tension device asdefined in claim 1 wherein a plurality of spherical elements arereceived in said passageway, said spherical element being positioned oneabove the other.
 12. A yarn tension device as defined in claim 1 whereinsaid yarn passageway extends above said seat throughout said housing atno substantial decrease in diameter.
 13. A tension device comprising:a.a plastic housing, said housing having a yarn passageway extendingtherethrough, said passageway having a large diameter section and asmall diameter section, said large diameter section having wallsdefining same that extend generally axially with respect to the housing,said housing further having a mounting member secured thereto andextending outwardly therefrom, b. an abrasion resistant insert receivedin said small diameter section of said passageway, said insert beinguninterrupted therearound and having an annular opening therethrough,said insert having arcuate surfaces around said opening, said arcuatesurfaces having a radius of curvature in a direction opposite thedirection of curvature of a spherical element receivable thereat, saidopening and arcuate surfaces defining a seat for a spherical element atthe junction of said large and small diameter sections; and c. aspherical element receivable in said large diameter section of saidpassageway and being residable at said seat while not making contactwith walls of said passageway when no yarn is passing through saidopening, said spherical element having a diameter less than the lengthof said large diameter section of said passageway and the diameter ofsaid large diameter section of said passageway at said seat being suchthat said spherical element is precluded from substantial lateralmovement whereby said spherical element continuously tensions a yarnpassing thereby .Iadd.said passageway being smooth surfaced andsubstantially unrestricted upwardly from said seat for a distancesufficient to permit substantially unrestricted upward movement of saidspherical element during tensioning of a yarn.Iaddend..
 14. A yarntension device as defined in claim 13 wherein said mounting member isintegral with said housing and has an elongated slot therealong.
 15. Ayarn tension device as defined in claim 13 wherein said large diametersection of said passageway has a diameter at an upper end thereof thatis at least as large as the diameter of the passageway at said seat..Iadd.
 16. A tension device comprising:(a) a housing, said housinghaving a yarn passageway extending therethrough, said yarn passagewayhaving a small diameter section and a large diameter section; (b) aninsert received along said passageway defining an uninterpreted annularseat located in said passageway at the junction of said large and smalldiameter sections, said seat having an annular opening passingtherethrough and presenting a smooth arcuate surface extending from saidopening outwardly therefrom, the curvature of said arcuate surface beingin a direction opposite the curvature of a spherical element receivablethereat; and (c) a spherical element receivable in said large diametersection of said passageway, said spherical element having a diameterless than the length of said large diameter section of said passagewayand said large diameter section of said passageway at said seat and saidspherical element being comparatively sized such that the said sphericalelement may reside at said seat out of contact with walls of said largediameter section of said passageway when no yarn is passing through saidopening and such that substantial lateral movement of said sphericalelement is precluded whereby said spherical element continuouslycontrols tension on a yarn passing thereby, said large diameterpassageway extending above said seat for at least a distance to receivetwo spherical elements therein and permit substantially unrestrictedupward movement of the number of spherical elements utilized therein,said large diameter section of said passageway having smooth walls andbeing unrestricted along said distance, during tensioning of a yarn..Iaddend..Iadd.
 17. A tension device as defined in claim 16 wherein thelarge diameter section of said passageway is substantially unrestrictedfor substantially the length of the housing above the seat. .Iaddend.